title: Build-a-brain.
abstract: A major barrier in understanding nervous system development is modeling the cellular interactions that form the human brain. Recently, in the journal Nature, Lancaster et al. (2013) established a protocol for culturing pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived "cerebral organoids" that mimics the developing human brain's cellular organization, segregates into distinct brain regions, and models microcephaly.
authors.affiliation: Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Stuart M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tchieu
authors.forename: Lorenz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Studer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000473:pathology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009940:Organoids / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*